After the Rain Has Fallen
by Salt Lick
Summary: Posted at ASMR and SMRFF. FInally i revised the stinker, and i'll get the official summary from asmr...sometime.


Finally the guard's head nodded and fell asleep  
onto his chest. A slight snore came from his  
still form, and the only other noise was the  
crackling of the dying fire, their only protection  
from the thick darkness surrounding the country.  
No one heard or saw the  
cloaked man clamber over the massive wall,   
stepping lightly past the snoring sentry. He   
looked over the vast courtyard, searching for  
anything that possibly could announce his arrival.  
No dogs slept in the corners, or at least, any that  
He could detect with at a quick glance. He hoped  
That they had all been kenneled for the night, and  
The strays tied securely.   
Quickly he dropped down off of the wall to  
the inside of the yard, then moved around to the   
castle itself, carefully remaining hidden within  
the shadow. No one could have spotted him now,   
for his black cloak blended perfectly with the  
black of the night, and seemed to devour any light  
that could illuminate the figure.   
He was a shadow, a phantom, a thief.   
A thief intent upon any royal treasure he  
could find laid causally in the rooms of those in   
residence.  
The only trick to it was ascending the high   
walls to the open windows.   
Low garden walls rose ominously to his left,  
and a set of barracks across the yard to his right.   
Up above him were a number of windows, royal bedrooms  
judging from the fabrics that made their curtains.   
The white of the fabric drew him like a moth till he   
was standing directly underneath the windows.  
Luckily for him, the stones that made up the  
outer portion of the wall was rough, with many footholds  
and handholds to make it up to the windows. Up he  
climbed, like a black fly on a white table cloth,  
the black coat he wore was painfully striking against  
the white limestone. He hoped that no one looked  
towards the castle, for if they did, he would be   
dead in a matter of minutes.   
But no one did look up, or if they had, they  
were either stupid or far to drunk to give any  
alarm. Silently he gripped the edge of the window,  
and hauled himself over the edge, perching on the  
sill like a bird.   
The large reception chamber was ornately decorated  
with imported furniture, glass goblets, and at least  
ten books, several open for study on the table, the  
others shelved neatly between ivory stands.   
Books that could bring him several gold pieces  
each. Curiosity over came him, however, to see  
who these books belonged to. A heavy wooden door  
closed off the bedroom, and it was to the door that  
the thief made his next move.   
Slowly he eased the door open, praying to whatever  
Gods would listen to a thief that it wouldn't creak.  
A huge four post bed appeared between the crack  
of the door, on it a mountain of pillows and blankets  
that seemed to be hastily thrown aside, and a glowing  
hearth in the corner, only the coals still lit. Slowly he drew  
a small dagger and stepped through the opening.   
No one appeared to be in the room, so the thief  
stepped surely over to the large dressing mirror. Gemstone  
necklaces were casually strewn over the mother of pearl  
overlay, and gold and silver rings were placed neatly  
on glass ring holders. His eyes gleamed greedily as he  
gazed over this mass of wealth.   
Like magic, a leather pouch appeared in his hands,  
soon stuffed full with jewelry. He smiled, and resisted  
the urge to whistle as he hefted the bag in his hand,  
then tied it back to his sword belt.  
With the books as his next victims, the thief   
turned around swiftly, only to find the sharp point   
of a sword in front of his face.  
"What are you doing?" A feminine voice demanded.  
The thief gulped, eyes fixed on the sword. Once he  
glanced up to see who was there, but the face was  
hidden in shadows.   
"Well, answer me!"  
"Why? You'll kill me no matter what I say." He  
looked up again, focusing on the dim outline of her eyes.  
"Answer me first, then we'll see." She said again,  
with a hint of laughter in her voice.   
Still refusing to speak, he reached down and moved  
part of his cape aside.  
"Don't even think about any daggers, thief." She  
growled.  
"Never, my lady." With that he yanked off the  
pouch with the stolen jewels and tossed it towards her.  
Moments passed, both debating on what to do   
or say next. Then finally the sword lowered from his  
face, and with it, he let out a sigh of relief.   
"Now you can answer my question."  
"I'm a magic fairy come to grant you three wishes.  
You know why I'm here, so why ask stupid questions? I'll  
just be on my way now." He started to say, and edged in   
the general direction of the door.  
"Not likely. Who are you? I've never met a thief  
so bold as to steal into the princesses bedroom. I'll  
have our bard compose a song about you, about how the   
servant came in and found the Princess sleeping away  
while the body of a man was skewered against the wall.  
I'm sure the entire court will enjoy that one." Serenity said,  
and shut the door with her foot.  
"Well then, if you are going to kill me, let's  
have a bit of light first. So you can see the thief  
who dared the impossible."  
"Agreed." Serenity said, then made her way  
over to the hearth. A few logs were tossed on, and  
slowly light crept through the room.   
The princess was fully dressed in a pair of  
riding pants with a dark green tunic belted over   
it. Her feet were bare, and silver hair  
fell undone over her shoulders. She looked slowly   
over the thief, clothed in black from his boots  
to the covering across the bottom of his face.  
"My true name I won't reveal, but I am called  
Mamoru." He bowed with a flourish, then sat  
on a low stool.  
"I've never heard a name like that, Mamoru."  
Serenity twirled the sword in her hand, then fell  
silent in thought.   
Mamoru smiled, then finished the spell he  
had just cast on the Princess. 'Silly twit, didn't  
even know what was going on!' Now she would think  
that their incounter had just been a vivid dream,  
and he would escape undetected.   
Something tugged at the back of his mind,  
like a forgotten warning with such memory spells,  
but it was probably unimportant, and besides, if  
she got slightly ill, which was usually what those  
types of spells did, it was none of his concern.  
Without another moment's hesitation, Mamoru  
went back through the door and climbed back out  
of her chambers and disappeared into the night.  
He never knew he had left something behind.  
Slowly Serenity came out of her stupor,   
confused as to why she was sitting up, fully dressed,  
in the early morning. Everything still seemed  
hazy, and a sudden exhaustion washed over her.  
'Surely all the riding I did today wore me out  
so.' She rose, and move unsteadily to her bed,  
and was asleep the instant she laid her head down.  
  
The next day, Serenity rose late in the  
morning. Outside her window, in the courtyard,   
various members of court gathered, preparing for  
another day of hunting. She sighed, wishing that  
she could join them, but had already promised  
her Mother that she would help with the weaving.   
Serenity glanced down at her rumpled clothing,  
sighed again, then went to sit by her mirror.   
She picked up her brush and began to hum a soft  
tune as she ran it through her silver hair. The   
day was so lovely - not being able to be out  
in it was so annoying! After a while, she set  
the brush back on the marble table top, then paused.  
By her perfumes there was a golden locket,  
not anything like the other ones were. It was a   
bit gaudy, but beautiful nonetheless. She reached  
over and picked it up gingerly, examining the   
golden bauble. It was ornate, with decorations  
of the moon on the outside. She opened it, and  
as she did a haunting melody rose from the  
inside.   
Serenity gasped. She had heard this before...  
but it was impossible! He had died, long ago! Hadn't  
he? But the locket was playing that song... and  
she remembered that somewhere she had seen this trinket,  
but had given it away to... to...  
No. It was impossible. Endymion was dead,  
he had died when the court of Earth had been over-run  
by those peasant martyrs!   
She closed the locket with a snap and set   
it back on the marble top. Something was still fuzzy  
in the back of her mind, and it made her very mad. She  
was sure it had something to do with the locket, but  
it stubbornly refused to clear, nor could she forget  
about it!   
All day Serenity couldn't think of much else,  
absently weaving, and barely hearing the scolds of  
the others when she botched up one piece of cloth beyond  
repair.  
"Serenity, honestly! Can't you keep your head  
out of the clouds for one minute?"  
"Fine then!" the exasperated princess threw   
down the shuttle. "You don't need my help anyway! Stupid  
weaving. Why should a princess do that anyway!" She snapped,  
and stormed from the room, leaving behind a shocked   
group of women.   
Stupid, stupid, stupid! She muttered to herself  
all the way up to her room, where she furiously changed  
into a simple gown, then stormed towards the gardens.  
The roses always had managed to calm her temper when  
things were bothering the princess. It was one of the   
few places where she could think without threat of   
interruption. And think she did.  
She thought about the last time she had seen   
Endymion, and how long ago that was. He had been a year  
or two older than she, roughly ten at the time, while  
she had been just eight. He had gone away to visit his  
aunt's lands right after Serenity's birthday, and then  
she had gotten the news that the hold had been over run  
by peasants. Everyone had been reported dead, her mother  
had said. They had told her that the prince had been   
buried; she had seen his grave!  
Serenity shook her head as if to clear it of the  
doubts she was having. Endymion was dead.   
He had been dead for the better part of 12 years   
now.   
She sighed, then stood and wandered back inside  
to her room, where she laid down on the couch by her   
window, watching the shadows slide across the floor.   
It was noon when a servant brought a tray full of food  
to her room. She ate silently, wishing it was night  
already so she could just give herself over to sleep.  
Night came sooner than she expected, though. After  
a day of lazing about and occasionally reading from one  
of her books, and a quick visit from her cousin, Princess  
Minako of Venus, it was dark before she knew it.  
Briefly Serenity thought of going down to the dining  
hall to eat with the court, but decided against it. She  
was full from the heavy lunch, and could hardly keep her  
eyelids open. Strange, she thought, as she had hardly  
done anything exhausting that day, but exhausted she   
was. Absently she wandered over to the dresser and picked  
up the suspicious locket, then sat back down upon the couch.  
For comfort and memories sake Serenity pried the  
golden trinket open, and fell asleep listening to the  
haunting melody.   
It wasn't until well after midnight that Mamoru  
crept up the wall again, and into the Princess' bedroom,  
in search of his prized locket, only to find it clutched  
tight over her heart, still playing the soft tune over  
and over. 


End file.
